Reason: a mechanical first visual impact diverts from the fact th that at the end of the day it's software who ultimately finishes the job.

Slot machines and claw machines v lottery

On the other hand one of the few lines required to specify the state lottery's software reads: NEVER allow human cattle to get the jackpot.

I should know, since I exposed worldwide first in 2004 not only the the lottery software specification but also the other document required to rig state lotteries: how TV drawings are staged.

Notes

Added March 2015: this page also includes images of the claw machines's user's handbook:

At some point or another you've probably played one of these claw machines, hoping to score the plush toy of your dreams. But despite your skill at perfectly positioning the claw over the prize and activating it, you've found that the pincers just don't grab tightly enough to pick up a stuffed animal.

It's not your imagination. Those claw machines are rigged. But they're rigged in a surprisingly clever way — and not the way most people suspect.

(Also read: Slot-machine science: How casinos get you to spend more money)

The claw is programmed to grab tightly only part of the time

Some people think the claw machine is so hard to win because the stuffed animals are packed so tightly together. But the bigger reason is more insidious than that: the claw machine is programmed to have a strong grip only part of the time.

This isn't a closely kept secret. It's publicly available information, pulled straight from the instruction guides for the biggest claw games out there. Open the manual for Black Tie Toys' Advanced Crane Machine. Look at page eight, section subheading "Claw Strength":

The machine's owner can fine-tune the strength of the claw beforehand so that it only has a strong grip a fraction of the time that people play.

The owner can manually adjust the "dropping skill," as well. That means that on a given number of tries, the claw will drop a prize that it's grabbed before it delivers it to you.

The machines also allow the owner to select a desired level of profit and then automatically adjust the claw strength to make sure that players are only winning a limited number of times: